


sunlight reflected

by ShowMeAHero



Category: IT (1990), IT - Stephen King
Genre: Amputee Eddie Kaspbrak, Angst, Canon-Typical Violence, Domestic, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Established Relationship, Fluff, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Nightmares, Post-Canon
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-15
Updated: 2020-09-15
Packaged: 2021-03-06 21:27:24
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,400
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26485651
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ShowMeAHero/pseuds/ShowMeAHero
Summary: It's not until after Eddie falls to the ground that Richie's allowed to run forward again. His movement comes and goes in flashes. In seconds, he's at Eddie's side, grabbing his hand, sliding his hand under his head to lift him up.He's expecting Eddie to be alive, to look at him and say something,anything,but nothing happens. Eddie's just laying there, limp, his head lolling out of Richie's hold.
Relationships: Eddie Kaspbrak/Richie Tozier
Comments: 19
Kudos: 107
Collections: it (1990) one-shots





	sunlight reflected

**Author's Note:**

> written based off a prompt i got on tumblr that read: _90s miniseries Richie and eddie + a nightmare? For the prompt?[Your choice of who!"](https://andillwriteyouatragedy.tumblr.com/post/629364293372198912/90s-miniseries-richie-and-eddie-a-nightmare-for)_

The entire world fades to a blue-black blur when Pennywise grabs Eddie. Richie can't focus on anything else; he's got tunnel-vision all honed in on Eddie, his heart racing with a pure terror unlike any he's felt before in his life.

When he reaches for Eddie, his hands don't move. When he tries to run forward, to grab him or catch him or  _ something,  _ nothing happens. He doesn't move, he  _ can't  _ move. He can't even get his voice to work; when he tries to scream Eddie's name, only silence comes out.

It's not until after Eddie falls to the ground that Richie's allowed to run forward again. His movement comes and goes in flashes. In seconds, he's at Eddie's side, grabbing his hand, sliding his hand under his head to lift him up.

He's expecting Eddie to be alive, to look at him and say something,  _ anything,  _ but nothing happens. Eddie's just laying there, limp, his head lolling out of Richie's hold.

"Eddie?" Richie asks. The terror has gripped his entire body, now, racing through his veins like ice. He releases Eddie's hand to grip his head in both hands, pushing his eyelids open with his thumbs. His eyes don't move.  _ "Eddie!" _

"Richie, let go," Bill's voice tells him. Richie ignores him, pulling Eddie into the tightest embrace he's ever given anyone. "Let him  _ go." _

"Shut up, Bill!" Richie shouts backwards at him. He buries his face in Eddie's throat and repeats, "Shut up,  _ shut up!" _

"Give it up, Rich," Pennywise's voice says. Richie plants his heels on the stone ground beneath them and shoves both himself and Eddie backwards towards the wall, pushing Eddie's body behind him. All around them is just complete darkness; Richie can't see anyone or anything but Eddie underneath him.

"Eds, Eddie," Richie murmurs, pulling him close again. He can't feel a heartbeat in Eddie's throat or in his wrist, can't feel movement in his face, can't feel breath from his mouth or nose. A desperate horror seizes him like sickness and he sobs, crying,  _ "Eddie,"  _ into his neck.

Someone behind him grabs Richie by the shoulder, but Richie shoves them off. Whoever it is grabs him again, by both shoulders, and he doesn't have the energy to fight them off anymore. He lets whoever it is shake him.

"Richie," they say, and it takes a second for Richie to realize it's Eddie's voice. Confused, disoriented, he tries to turn, but he feels trapped, his arms stuck to his side. "Richie, honey, you're okay, calm down—"

Richie sobs again, trying to fight his way free, to get back to the Eddie underneath him, but he's lost in the darkness. He can't see Eddie anymore in the cave. He has no idea where he is anymore, just— lost.

"I've got you," Eddie says again. Richie struggles to reach out to him, wherever he is. "Hey, you're okay, Richie, honey, breathe. Richie,  _ breathe." _

"Eddie," Richie gasps. An arm wraps around him from the back, and he clutches to the hand over his heart, dragging it up to his face. He kisses Eddie's palm, then inhales, long and slow. The familiar, warm scent of Eddie's skin — the unique combination of his fancy moisturizer and his vanilla cologne and just whatever's underneath that's innately Eddie — grounds him, and his breath catches in his throat, breaking.

"I got you," Eddie repeats. "I got you, Richie, you're okay."

"Eddie," Richie manages. He still can't  _ see,  _ and Eddie’s body disappears again, leaving him alone in the confusing, blurry darkness.  _ "Eddie—" _

"I'm right here," Eddie says. His fingertips touch Richie's face, and he says, "I've got your glasses right here, honey. Can I put them on you? Is that okay?"

"Yeah," Richie breathes. Eddie separates from him again, and twin points of cold metal slide along Richie's temples, slipping behind his ears. The darkness clarifies into their bedroom, and Eddie's face swims into view, right in front of his own. He's all flushed and teary-eyed, his own glasses crooked on his nose.

"Are you okay, honey?" Eddie asks. He takes Richie's hand in his, threads their fingers together.

"I'm so sorry," Richie insists. "Eddie, I—"

"It's  _ okay,"  _ Eddie tells him softly. "Richie, it's okay."

Richie can't help the way the back of his nose burns, his eyes itching when another sob wells up in his chest. He hiccups, then sobs again, and Eddie pulls him in, embracing him tightly, guiding Richie's face into his chest. He shushes him when Richie cries, clutching him tightly.

"I saw you die," Richie manages in the middle of his breath hitching. "I saw it, you were just—"

"I'm okay," Eddie reassures him. His voice is soft and deep in his chest under Richie's ear, just as grounding as his warm scent. "I'm okay, you're okay. It was just a bad, bad dream, honey. That's all. You're right here at home, right here, you're okay."

"I'm so sorry," Richie tells him again. Eddie shushes him, separates them. He tips Richie's face up with one sleep-warm hand, his palm still creased by their sheets, just like his cheek.

"Don't be sorry," Eddie says. "It was just a nightmare. You have nothing to be sorry for."

Richie tries to make a joke but his voice catches in this throat again. When he looks up at Eddie properly, he sees his hair's a tangled mess of curls, all shoved to one side. It makes him laugh tearfully, hanging his head. Eddie tips his face up again.

"You look cute," Richie tells him. He clears his throat, and Eddie rubs his shoulder. After a moment, he pushes his hand up into Richie's hair, scratching at his scalp. Richie tilts his head back into Eddie's palm. "Sorry about all that, Eds."

"What'd I  _ just  _ say?" Eddie asks him. He's got a smile in his voice and at the corners of his mouth.

"I don't know," Richie says, "I was just lost looking in your pretty eyes—"

_ "Richie,"  _ Eddie laughs. Richie reaches out and winds his arms around Eddie tight, wraps him up as close as he can get him and buries his face in Eddie's hair. He grips Eddie's shoulders tight, then rubs down his back, up and down and up again. He relishes in how warm he is, how he can feel his blood racing and his heart pounding.

"I don't ever want to lose you," Richie tells him. He noses along the crown of Eddie’s head and gets a faceful of flyaway curls for his efforts. His voice is muffled when he says, "Y'know, just 'cause I love you so much and I'd never want to be without you again. Not ever, okay?"

"Okay," Eddie agrees. "You don't need to worry about that, honey."

"Okay," Richie echoes. He kisses Eddie's hair, then his ear, then his cheek, relishing in the way he can feel it curve up underneath him when Eddie smiles.

"I love you, too," Eddie murmurs softly. Richie kisses him properly on the lips, and Eddie leans into him, pushing him down into the pillows. "Relax, you're okay. Just close your eyes. I'm right here."

Eddie pulls Richie into his side, stroking up his back, then down. He removes Richie's glasses from his face and sets them aside quietly in the darkness before his hand comes back to stroke Richie's face.

"Relax," Eddie says, voice soft in his chest. Richie listens to the quiet, steady beat of Eddie's heart under his ear and closes his eyes. Behind his eyelids, he sees Eddie's body again, and he forces them back open.

Instead of letting his eyes close, Richie tilts his head up on Eddie's chest so he can look at his face instead. He can barely see him in the darkness, but he can make out his sharp jaw and his soft mouth and his warm brown eyes, watching Richie so close they make eye contact when Richie lets his attention drift all the way up. Eddie strokes his hair back out of his eyes and smiles.

"Get some rest," Eddie says quietly. "I'll be right here."

"I'll hold you to that," Richie mumbles. Eddie kisses his forehead, tipping his face into Richie's hair, hugging him close. Richie tangles their legs together from the ankles up and winds them as close together as he can manage, clinging tight, refusing to close his eyes again when he can keep watching Eddie.

**Author's Note:**

> You can (and should!) come chat with me on Twitter at [@nicole__mello](https://twitter.com/nicole__mello) (new @!) and/or on Tumblr at [andillwriteyouatragedy](http://andillwriteyouatragedy.tumblr.com/).


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